West Ham United lost on their return to Premier League action, relinquishing a half-time lead to go down 3-1 at Arsenal on Boxing Day
Benrahman’s penalty had given the Hammers a surprise lead midway through the first half after William Saliba fouled Jarrod Bowen, but the second half was a one-way game.
Martin Odegaard’s mistake gave Bukayo Saka a late equalizer before Gabriel Martinelli beat former striker Lukasz Fabianski at the near post to put Arsenal ahead.
The best goal of the night gave Arsenal a two-goal lead and some good passive play ended with Eddie Nketiah breaking from a defender and firing past Fabianski into the bottom corner, saving a chance for Arsenal’s main striker Gabriel Jesus. absence.
As Arsenal go top with a tenth consecutive home win, West Ham remain in 16th place and just one point above the relegation zone following Wolves’ win over Everton earlier in the day.
As predicted, Nketiah started in place of Jesus, who is sidelined with an injury sustained at the World Cup in Brazil.
Arsenal thought they had taken the lead after five minutes when Saka found the back of the net, but the ball touched Nketiah in the build-up, leading to an offside.
Martinelli then made a good run down the left before being brought down by Bowen who was booked. The Gunners took a free kick in the eighth minute, but failed to score.
Arsenal missed a good chance to take the lead when Odegaard tried to start a counter-attack to Granit Xhaka, but instead controlled his pass and the Switzerland captain was unable to get the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Fabianski.
Having dominated possession in the first half, the Gunners continued to frustrate the resilient visitors, who eventually took the lead when Saliba broke Bowen inside the box and clipped the West Ham forward’s left foot.
The referee signaled and Benrahma stepped forward and fired into the back of the net as Aaron Ramsdale dived down the left to score in the 27th minute.
The Gunners kept the pressure on with attacks for the first 45 minutes and found themselves several times in the final third, but ultimately produced nothing.
The first half ended in more frustration for the home side as Odegaard unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that caught Aaron Creswell, whose hand went up as he made the save. Arsenal initially had the ball, but a VAR review confirmed the ball hit Creswell’s head, ensuring the Gunners were 1–0 up at half-time.
Mikhail Antonio’s attempt to double the Hammers’ lead failed shortly after the restart. Thomas Partey’s shot hit the post from the right and Fabianski blocked the corner.
The Gunners equalized in the 53rd minute when Odegaard’s shot found Saka’s feet on the edge of the penalty area. Saka wasted no time and hit the bottom left corner to level the scores.
Arsenal opened the scoring just six minutes later when a few quick touches found Martinelli on the left side of the area and he beat Fabianski with little effort at the near post.
Nketiah received strong support from the Emirates fans from the start and they were finally rewarded when Odegaard flicked the ball past the 23-year-old, who deftly rounded his mark before diving into the corner as ecstatic fans chanted his name.
Lineups:
Arsenal:
Ramsdale, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Tierney (Zinchenko 73), Partey (Elneny 90+5), Xhaka, Saka, Ødegaard , Martinelli (Vieira 88), Nketiah
Subs not used: Turner (GK), Holding, Cédric, Lokonga, Marquinhos, Cozier-Duberry
West Ham United:
Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Kehrer, Cresswell, Rice , Souček (Fornals 78), Bowen, Paquetá, Benrahma, Antonio (Mubama 87)
Subs not used: Areola (GK), Johnson, Ogbonna, Emerson, Coventry, Lanzini, Downes
Scorers:
Bookings:
Man of the Match : Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)
Match Stats:
